Activist Laurie David Cited For Wetlands Violations

Noted environmental activist and Chilmark seasonal resident Laurie David has been cited and fined by the Chilmark conservation commission for fresh violations of the state Wetlands Protection Act.

The property owned by Ms. David off North Road was the subject of a series of wetlands violations in 2005, when construction of a stone fire pit, barbecue grill area and wooden stage for a children’s theatre with seating was begun in a wetland without a permit.

The new infractions occurred during the construction of a tennis court. Workers installed a makeshift road with boards and stones and drove heavy machinery across the resources area making a path to the tennis court site. Attempts to reach Ms. David were unsuccessful but Bart Thorpe, who said he is the contractor on the job, took full responsibility for the violations yesterday.

“She’s obviously a very busy person and she trusted the contractor, just like last time,” he said. “And I inadvertently made a mistake. It’s something she had no knowledge of and had nothing to do with, and it’s a minor thing.”

Following a site inspection, the Chilmark conservation commission voted to issue an enforcement order at a May 20 meeting.

The resulting order, addressed to a Los Angeles trust which is the owner of record of the property, demanded that all boards and rocks be removed from the area as well as the equipment and that a snow fence be built surrounding the damaged area to prevent future intrusion.

It also called for complete restoration and re-vegetation plan for the wetland areas and surrounding buffer zones.

And since it was a repeat offense, the conservation commission decided to institute a fine.

“Since this site has a history of violations a daily fine of $300 shall be levied starting May 22,” the order reads.

Conservation commission assistant Chuck Hodgkinson said this week that Mr. Thorpe submitted plans to the commission on Tuesday following the Memorial Day weekend, and the commission put a stop on the fine at a total of $900.

Mr. Hodgkinson added that a further site check Wednesday by conservation agent Russell Walton found that equipment had been removed and that the wetlands area had been regraded and fresh vegetation planted.

“From my standpoint it’s a minor infraction cased by an oversight of mine,” said Mr. Thorpe.

“Doing any kind of contract work things certainly happen, and we try and do our best to do things right. I got the ‘good job’ myself from the conservation officer yesterday.”

The repeated offense has unfortunate resonance for the producer of the Oscar-winning climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, who is known as an activist who encourages individuals to do their part in protecting the environment.

She recently completed a tour of American universities with singer Sheryl Crow titled the Stop Global Warming College Tour. She is co-author of Stop Global Warming: The Solution Is You! and The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming and a frequent contributor to an environmentally-focused column for the Huffington Post.

The construction on Ms. David’s property has provided a focal point for rancor within the neighborhood.

News of the latest violation reached the commission via a neighborhood whistle-blower who contacted the Gazette yesterday but wished to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile neighbor Jacqueline Mendez-Diez wrote a frank letter, published in today’s paper, regarding the violations at the site. She is also quoted regarding the matter this week in the online environmental publication ecorazzi.com

For his part, Mr. Thorpe blamed Ms. Mendez-Diez for whipping up controversy over the violations.

Ms. Mendez-Diez denied this, though she acknowledged that she had received a notice from Chilmark police warning her to not to trespass on the property, several years ago.

She maintained that she has in fact never trespassed and meanwhile accused Mr. Thorpe of dishonesty and bullying tactics.

“I don’t trust anything he says,” she said.

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Reader Feedback

Sunday, May 31, 2009 8:29pm

It sounds as though we have a case of "mistaken identity" here. Your headline and the early parts of your article leave the impression that Ms. David is not the environmental advocate she is reported to be. Fortunately, you revealed that it was Mr. Thorpe, her contractor who made a mistake, admitted it, and worked quickly to resolve the situation and mitigate any damage that was done. At that point it should have been case closed but thanks to a disgruntled neighbor, poison was deliberately spread into the intenet with the goal of soiling Ms. David's name. Given the monumental contribution Laurie has made to take action aimed at protecting the environment for her family, neighbors, and global community it is a shame that there are people who think nothing of running a "gossip truck" over another person's reputation which is certainly as fragile as a Chilmark wetland. That neighbor needs to learn a lesson from Mr. Thorpe who set the record straight.

- John Williams , West Tisbury

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 8:49am

John Williams on 05/31/2009 comes to the defense of David implying that the article unfairly gives the impression that she is not the environmental advocate she is reported to be when it was all her contractor making the mistakes. However, David appears to be another example of the type who will lecture all of us about our huge horrible carbon footprint and how bad people are for the environment, while she herself continues to live as extravagantly as she wants to. Another double standard, hmmm?

- Sam , Costa Mesa CA

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 10:57am

It's a little unclear from the article, but I am not the "whistle blower". There is more than one neighbor in this story.

I do not engage in criminal activity, nor am I on probation for anything. I am not the person repeatedly and illegally building in wetlands-- that would lately be Bart Thorpe, working for Laurie David. Before Bart, there was someone else directing the damage. I am an outspoken critic of this kind of eco-hypocrisy. It is not acceptable to me NOT to speak out against the repeated violations on the property. The unending development of this trophy property has personally impacted me for nearly 10 years-- my property is surrounded by it. It's impossible not to notice the disruption, and certainly impossible not to be "near" it, as Thorpe falsely claims I am "not allowed" to be. Sorry, but I live here year round.

I attended the May 20 Chilmark Con Comm meeting where Thorpe's violations on the David property, with photos, were made public. A neighbor told me about the meeting. It was disclosed at the meeting that Thorpe had damaged this same area on the David wetlands 2 years ago. He cut down trees in the wetland. After promising the commission 2 years ago that it would not happen again, it has. After the meeting, I wrote a letter regarding the Con Comm findings to the Gazette. That letter is published this week.

The question remains, why does Laurie David continue to employ people who keep violating Environmental Protection Act laws? It has been a pattern that has lasted through the years, with different people taking the blame. The David property has been developed without regard to the carbon footprint of this kind of massive upheaval to the eco-structure. While having a big carbon footprint is not illegal as long as the work is not done in protected areas, it is beyond hypocrisy for the property owner to busy herself with telling everyone else to reduce their carbon footprint. It's nonsense for Thorpe to blame me for his part in the damaging activity. I do not know the number of violations taking place during all this construction, but is more than two. I know of at least 5 separate incidents with many more questionable things done.

At any rate, the people breaking EPA law are not the ones who get to tell you that each incident of their law-breaking is minor. It is illegal to build in wetlands and the buffer zones. It is illegal to do this work without getting a permit. The regulatory boards and agencies are the ones who determine the severity of these damages, not Bart Thorpe. The reason why Thorpe worked so quickly to remedy the matter was because there was a Massachusetts EPA Enforcement Order against him and Ms. David to do so immediately. There is no mistaken identity. He and had no choice. There has been a discrepancy from Thorpe regarding his word and his actual work on the property since day one, when he first went to work for the Davids a few years ago. It is a matter of public record and contributes to the reason why so many people are fed up.

This matter will be covered again by the Chilmark Conservation Commission meeting on Wednesday at 12:30 at the Chilmark town hall.

Jackie Mendez-Diez

- Jacqueline Mendez-Diez , Chilmark

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